Managing Anxiety: The Cluttered House Visualization

There was a season of my life when I was filled with anxiety and suffered from insomnia regularly. In the wake of a miscarriage, moving and having two toddlers under 3, just a few things were going on, and I was routinely plagued with racing thoughts at nighttime. During a time that I was working through some of the reasons for my anxiety, I came up with this visualization method to help me compartmentalize and “declutter” the thoughts that were in my head.

I imagined myself in my home. Each room held a different issue I was struggling with. For example, if I were working with my parents or in-laws, I would mentally retreat to my guest room. Evaluate how “messy” the situation was. I would imagine picking up the things that were on the floor as I pick apart the situation. Then, when I “tidied” as much of the situation as I could, I would mentally shut the door to the room. I would pray, Jesus, please seal this door until it is the proper time to open, think about it again.

I had a room for my children, my husband, friends, work, or church situations. When I would go and check each room before going to bed at night, I was able to sleep soundly because my brain had already had time to process the things I had worked through during the day. The exercise is as short or long as time allows. I also did it in the middle of the night, but it is much more beneficial to do it before bed than at 3am. Most of the time, cleaning your physical home can be a tremendously time-consuming and effort-intensive task. When you take the time to declutter your mind, you will be in a much better spot to tackle life’s challenges.